


Staying Frosty

by your_chaotic_little_sibling



Category: Call of Duty (Video Games), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Fandom
Genre: Adoption, Everyone Needs A Hug, Father-Daughter Relationship, General Shepherd can die a horrible death and no one would miss him, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, My OC's family dies, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Price is everyone's dad, army fam, ghost and roach LIVE, potential ghost x roach but i'm not sure so hold that thought, really wholesome shit right here, that should be a tag, tough guys are teddy bears, warning?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:00:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28926192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/your_chaotic_little_sibling/pseuds/your_chaotic_little_sibling
Summary: A trip to Russia by a normal American family turned completely upside down when the Ultranationalists took control of a park and killed everyone but a select few that were thought to be helpful. One of those select few was Jamie Johnson. Lady Luck chose her to be the one who was saved by Task Force 141, and Price doesn't think he's ever seen a tougher kid.BIG WIP RIGHT HERE! I know the fandom is dead but LEAVE ME ALONE
Comments: 37
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

Task Force 141 was known for being the most efficient, smart, and elite force in the military. Looking in from the outside, the team seemed to work like a well oiled machine, even in the toughest of situations, and they made the hard decisions that no one else wanted to make. They focused on the mission and didn't let emotions cloud their judgement. They were a serious, tough team of ruthless soldiers, to anyone outside.

Of course, never judge a book by its cover.

For context, they thought the mission was going to be easy. Slip in a Russian base, get the intel, and get out without anyone even knowing they were there in the first place. The only ones who went were Captain MacTavish, Ghost, and Roach, and they were completely confident in their plans. This was Task Force 141, they had Plans A-Z just in case, and the three were sure that they had the whole situation under control.

That is, until the captain rounded a corner and narrowly missed getting his skull cracked by a 14 year old girl with a metal pipe.

She let out a soft yell of surprise when he caught it, throwing her knee up into his crotch to make him let go. Despite her size, she fought like a wild animal, and the captain had a rough time concentrating thanks to the low blow she delivered. Those little legs packed a kick, especially where the sun didn’t shine. But, in the long run, the little fight was pointless, and she got tossed back into a wall while Soap held onto his groin and the pipe.

"What the hell?" He asked, a thick accent dripping from his words.

The child, who was clothed in a ripped shirt and bloodied jeans, stared at him through messy brunette waves. "Stay away from me," she said, her voice trembling a bit as she pressed her back to the wall.

The whole team froze for a second at her American, somewhat Southern, accent. What the hell was a little American girl doing in a Russian intel facility? "Hey, it's okay. We're from America, too," Roach called softly. She turned to him and her guard dropped a little at his accent, showing the fear that she had locked behind pure rage. "What's your name, kiddo?"

"Jamie," she said softly. "Jamie Johnson. My friends call me JJ…"

Soap, after recovering from a direct hit to the little ones, looked up. "Lassie, did you get captured?" He asked, standing up straight again and setting the pipe down on a nearby table. She nodded slightly.

"I'm sorry for that. I thought you were a Russian," JJ replied, folding her arms protectively around her waist. She was painfully skinny.

The captain shrugged off his jacket, making his way over to her. When she tensed, he held up his hands. "It's freezing out there, lass. Put this on, there you go. Better?" He asked, his voice dropping to a gentler tone with the girl as he wrapped his thick outer jacket around her shoulders. She nodded again and whispered a thank you. "My name is John MacTavish, and this here is my mate Ghost. He's going to sneak you out of here safely."

The teenager turned to Ghost, who nodded under his mask. "Come on, love. I'll keep you safe," he promised.

"Yes sir," she said softly, pulling the large jacket closer before turning to eye the metal pipe. "Mr. MacTavish, can I have that back?"

Soap glanced over at it before nodding, handing it back to her. "You got a mean swing," he said, a bit amused at her need for something to defend herself when someone like Ghost, an obviously strong, well trained man with a gun, was offering to escort her to safety. "Stick to Ghost like glue, understand?" He asked, picking his gun up again from where he set it on a nearby table. She nodded and moved over to the lieutenant. "We'll see you at base."

As Soap and Roach continued down the hallway, Ghost looked down at JJ. "Can you run?"

"Yes, sir," she said softly, slipping her arms through the jacket so it wouldn't fall off as they started their trek down the long hallways. MacTavish’s coat still practically swallowed her lithe frame. If it had been any other situation, Ghost would've laughed at the tiny girl in a big jacket carrying a metal pipe like she was a threat, but, at the moment, it was a little admirable. She was escaping from being a hostage to the Russians and she didn't seem to be completely out of her mind yet.

Ghost held a finger to his lips as they approached an intersection, and his hand came back to push JJ behind him gently. The girl clutched the metal pipe, pressing her arm to his lower back to show she was there. Ghost scoped out the intersection and turned to her. "Alright, love, here's what we're gonna do. You watch my every bloody move and stay behind me. This," he held up his hand in a fist, "means stop and be quiet. Don't move until I tell you to. You got that?"

"Yes, sir," she said, this time more confident. He nodded and turned back around before leading the way down the hallway with her right on his tail, her dirty tennis shoes making more noise than he was comfortable with on the hard tile floor.

When fast paced Russian reached his ears, Ghost held up his hand in a fist and the girl froze, looking around in front of them. He peeked down the hallway and saw two Russian soldiers coming their way. Waiting for a moment, he glanced over at JJ and silently told her to be quiet and still while he worked. She nodded, and, when the time was right, he lunged out and grabbed the first one, breaking his neck before stabbing the second one in the throat to keep him quiet. Easy kills, nothing out of the ordinary for a mission like this.

"Look out!" JJ cried, but it was too late and he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side. He groaned in pain and fell to one knee, feeling the barrel of a gun on his head. The soft pitter patter of feet around him didn't register as he processed his next move. Before he got the chance to do anything to get out, however, the barrel was pulled away and the Russian soldier fell to the ground, blood pooling around his neck. JJ was standing behind him, a knife in her hand from one of the deceased soldiers, with blood splattered on her pale face and a frightened look in her eye.

Ghost pressed his hands against his side as he stood up. He didn't think the knife cut anything important, so he wasn't too worried about it. "Good hit," he praised, grabbing his gun off the ground.

"You're hurt-"

"Let's deal with that when we get back to base, yeah? Stay frosty," he interrupted, keeping one hand on his side while the other held the gun. He didn't have time to check out his wounds. They needed to  _ go. _

JJ went to question what the hell 'stay frosty' meant, but she quickly fell silent and just followed along behind him. Her mind was in a million places, but she pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind and just focused on getting out of this facility. Her family wouldn't want her to give up after everything she went through to survive. Surviving the beating and yelling and fear would be for nothing if she didn't get out to tell her story.

_ "Ghost? You've got some hostiles heading your way. Haul ass and stay frosty," _ Soap called through the comms, causing the soldier to immediately look down at the teenager. She was holding up better than he expected, which should've been a concern, but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. He was focused on getting her out alive.

"Jamie, pick it up. We're running the rest of the way," Ghost said, picking up his pace to a jog to test his limits at first before speeding up to a run. JJ immediately started behind him, refusing to let go of the knife she had used in replacement of her pipe. Despite the dark nature of it, she felt safer.

They paused when they reached the door and Ghost pushed it open a little. "Alright, on my go. We rush to the trees. Don't stop running, no matter what. Do you understand, love?  _ Keep running.  _ If something happens to me, you take these and start talking into it. Someone will answer," he said, pulling his headphones off and handing them to her. Her eyes widened momentarily and he patted her shoulder before pushing the door open and rushing across the open parking lot, not giving her a chance to argue. Someone started yelling in Russian and shot at them, but Ghost returned fire to distract their attention away from the girl. Everything relied on her keeping her promise to keep running. He could fight these muppets off, but he couldn't do it with her standing beside him.

JJ followed her orders. She didn't look back, knowing that if she did, she was going to stop to help and get shot. So, she kept running until she couldn't hear the gunshots anymore and her legs gave out from under her, sending her toppling down into the hard forest ground.

Sitting in the cold snow for a second, JJ clutched the jacket around her body and hesitantly put the headphones over her ears. They were big, like the jacket, and she had to hold them against her head to keep them from sliding off. As her hands grazed over the cool plastic, she came across a button and pushed it. Quiet static filled her ears.

"H-hello?" She called softly, a nervous stutter presenting itself in her voice. For a moment, there was nothing, so she spoke again. "P-please, someone answer me…"

_ "Who is this?" _ Called a gruff Englishman on the other side. The angry voice was like that of an angel to the frightened child. Hell, at least he spoke English.

"My n-name is Jamie. He gave me his headset and t-told me to keep running no matter what and to talk into this if w-we got separated," she choked, pressing her back against the tree as tears threatened to fall. It was getting to be too much for her to handle. She was alone in the woods in Russia while it snowed. No dad to teach her about survival, no mom to hold her hand, no big brothers to kiss her head and promise that everything would be fine. It was just her and this angry British guy.

There was silence for a second before the voice spoke again, this time gentler.  _ "Alright, Jamie. It's alright. Do you know who gave you their comm?" _ He asked. JJ didn't answer, feeling it getting harder to breathe, and he heard the struggle.  _ "Just focus on my voice, love. You're going to be okay, we're tracking your location now. Just tell me what happened." _

The teen took three deep breaths, hugging the jacket closer for a form of comfort. "Mr. MacTavish s-said his name was G-Ghost, I think," she began, taking a moment to calm herself and her stutter before continuing. "We were supposed to be getting out, but Ghost got in a fight and he got hurt bad. He wouldn't stop, even though there was so much blood. He just kept walking… and when we got to the doors he stopped and gave me his headset. He told me to keep running no matter what, and if he wasn't behind me when I was safe, to talk into the headset. They started shooting at us and I got scared and kept running because I didn't want to die. I-I didn't even look back to see if he was alive… I just kept going-"

_ "Shh, love, you did the right thing. Can you tell me where Ghost was hurt?" _ The voice asked.

JJ nodded to herself. "In the side."

There was a soft breath of relief and the slamming of truck doors.  _ "Good. You've done very well, Jamie. I'm coming to get you right now, just stay where you are." _

"W-wait! D-don't stop talking, sir… I don't want to be alone," she whispered, clutching the headset for dear life as her throat got tight from holding back tears.

_ "I'm not going anywhere, love. You're not alone. Take deep breaths, that's it. You're going to be just fine." _

JJ nodded, taking deep breaths to calm down. There were a couple moments of silence while she breathed, trying to get a hold of herself. Easier said than done. "What's your name, sir?" She asked softly. His voice was calming, considering it was speaking in a language she understood and not trying to kill her.

_ "Call me Price. You said your name is Jamie?"  _ Trucks revved on the other side of the comms and her stomach did somersaults.

"Yes, sir. Jamie Johnson, or JJ," she replied, looking around her and feeling the snow starting to seep through the thick jacket she had gotten from MacTavish.

_ "JJ. Quite a badass name you got there. Abbreviated names are always badass, remember that," _ Price said. JJ couldn't help but smile as silence fell once more. A couple minutes passed of nothing, and she almost started to ask if he was there when he spoke up again.  _ "We're almost there. Take a look around. Do you see us?" _

JJ stood up off the tree, looking around for a couple seconds. The snow made it hard to see, and there didn't seem to be any movement at first, but soon she saw a dark mass heading her way. A smile crossed her face again. "I see you, Mr. Price," she said, waving her arm at the truck. "Can you see me?"

Price chuckled.  _ "We see you, love,"  _ he promised as JJ pulled the headset around her neck, knowing she had no need for it anymore. Moments later, the truck pulled up and a scruffy, older man got out of the passenger side, making his way over to her. She dropped the bloodied knife and didn't even think as she rushed in and hugged him like her life depended on it. "Thank you so much," she whispered, her entire body shaking from the ice cold weather around them.

Price was admittedly shocked, but he put his arms around her for a second and rested one hand on the back of her head. He doubted the kid had gotten a hug in months from the way she latched onto him. "Alright, alright," he said, moving so they could walk side by side back to the vehicle. "Go on and get in the truck. It's warm."

"But what about Ghost and Mr. Mac-"

"They're already on their way back to base now, JJ. Get in the truck," he interrupted. She nodded and climbed into the backseat, pulling the door shut as he got into the front. Taking a look in the rearview mirror, he examined the girl now that the snow wasn't altering his view. Her face was slim, like she didn't eat well, and splattered with dried blood from God knows where. Tangled, brown locks draped in front of her face, framing her forest green eyes that had a look that told him she had already seen way too much. Around her shoulders was a jacket much too big for her, which was quickly explained by the name tag that read 'MacTavish', and she was wearing Ghost's signature headset around her neck to match the mix-matched outfit. "You got a little thing from everyone, eh?"

Green eyes snapped back at him, obviously broken from a trance. "Sir?"

"Well, you've got Soap's jacket and Ghost's headset. You snagged something from two of my men," Price joked.

A small smile grew across her lips. How she still had the heart to smile after what she had been through, Price couldn’t figure out, but he was glad that she did. "I didn't ask for it, but it's rude not to accept a gift," she said. Despite everything, she still had that innocent light in her eyes. "Besides, I didn't get anything from the other man… Or you."

Price raised his eyebrows and glanced at Royce, who was in the driver's seat, and the latter shrugged a little. Another quick glance back reminded the captain of her bare hands that were still blue from the snow, so he pulled his gloves off and tossed them back to her. She jumped a little and caught them. "Sir, I was just-"

"Keep 'em, love. It's rude to not accept a gift."


	2. The Things We Take For Granted

Although the base wasn't too far away from where JJ ended up hiding, the quiet car ride gave her time to think. In the Russian facility, she never got a moment to breathe and process what was going on. Between the beatings and other prisoners threatening her, she was constantly living in a bubble of fear that she hid behind a wall of unbridled rage. No one took advantage of the girl who clawed out one of the prisoner's eyes when he put his hands on her.

After all, her father always told her to go for the eyes.

The thought of her father made the girl almost tear up. The image was fresh in her mind from when the Ultranationalists swarmed a random park that her and her family were at during their vacation. The soldier that took her didn't even hesitate when he gunned down her mother and father. He ignored her screams for mercy as her parents laid dying on the cold grass. He even laughed in her face when she tried to escape before knocking her out with the butt of the gun.

And her brothers?

Well, she didn't know what happened to them. She assumed they were gone, just like her parents. The only way she managed to stay alive was because she was good with computers, could bullshit her way through anything, and was fun to mess with. Hell, if it weren't for her computer class that she used to complain about every day and her natural ability to twist her words, she would be dead.

"Oi, Jamie," Price called, interrupting her thoughts. Immediately, the girl wiped her eyes with her fingers and looked up to him. She hadn't even realized she was crying, honestly. "We're here."

JJ looked out the window and saw that they were parked outside of a massive building. There were soldiers all around, some doing their own thing while others went on runs in what felt like subzero temperatures. Who on earth would willingly go outside when it's that cold? "It's huge," she commented after a second.

"That's wha-"

"Shut the bloody hell up, Royce, and go find Soap," Price ordered as he got out of the truck. JJ quickly followed, moving to the older man's side immediately for comfort and protection from the wind. "Come on, love. How does a hot meal sound?" He offered, immediately getting a hopeful look from the young teen. It hurt his heart to see a kid so excited for a hot meal. Kids were supposed to not even recognize that hot meals were a luxury.

"I know I've already said it, Mr. Price, but thank you. You and the others saved my life," JJ said softly, almost inaudible over the crowd of men in the mess hall. She looked around, seeing soldiers left and right starting to file in for dinner, and the instincts that had been beaten into her reared their ugly heads. Her muscles tensed and she paused in her walk, looking around nervously to see where everyone was at that exact moment. Suddenly she was shaking again, but not from the cold.

Price, who knew exactly how it felt to be beat to hell by the Ultranationalists, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder to ground her. "You're alright, JJ. They won't bother you," he promised, leading her to the front of the food line. No one objected, and he practically heard her stomach growl when she was handed a tray with a bowl of soup, a slice of bread, and a bottle of water stacked on it. Once the tray was balanced in her hand, he took her to a nearby table, sitting down close to the door so they would see when the Task Force came in.

JJ didn't hesitate to start eating. It was good food, to her at least, and it filled her up more than anything in the past 3 months had. "Don't make yourself sick," Price said, taking notice how she had already downed half her soup and they had only been sitting down for a couple minutes. She nodded and slowed down a bit.

"Sorry. It's… been a while," she admitted. Price nodded in understanding. "So… What happens now? Do I just get put in some foster home?"

The captain felt his heart clench at that thought. The foster care system was in shambles, and a girl like JJ had practically no chance of getting adopted. She was too old, and even if a family was willing to adopt a teenager, her past would scare them all away. "No," he replied after a second, clearing his throat. She tilted her head in confusion, wondering where else she would go, but Price ignored it. He didn't have a solid answer yet. "When you get cleaned up, a couple mates and I are going to ask about what happened and what you remember. Then we go from there."

JJ squirmed a little when she heard this and set down her spoon for a moment. That sounded an awful lot like an interrogation, and she never wanted to be in one of those ever again. "What if I don't remember much?" She asked softly.

"Then you don't remember it. It's no big deal, love, just procedure," Price promised. She nodded and he motioned for her to finish her food, since she was almost done. Once she started to eat again, he continued. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you here, Jamie. Swear it on my bloody life."

The promise was met with a small smile from the girl. Price had no idea what she had gone through at the hands of the Russians, but here she was, smiling at him with a face covered in blood. He pulled out a rag from one of his pockets and poured some of her water on it, handing it to her so she could wipe her face. "Here, at least until you can get a shower," he offered, handing it to her. She took it and started to lightly scrub at the blood on her cheeks.

"Can I ask you a question, Mr. Price?" She asked after a second, looking at the rag to see all the crap she had wiped away. The discoloration of the previously tan fabric made her cringe as she returned to wiping her face.

He nodded. "Fire away."

"I have- had- two older brothers. I was always stuck with toy army soldiers from their childhood, not dolls or anything, so I know the bare minimum about ranks. You know, berets of different colors mean different specialties and stuff like that. What's up with the fisher hat?" She asked, her eyes moving up to the filthy old hat on top of the captain's head. 

Price chuckled when he heard this and flicked his finger on it. "Well, I've been told it compliments my eyes," he said, a smirk spreading across his lips.

JJ laughed softly at the response. She couldn't remember the last time she had genuinely laughed. "Yes sir, it does," she nodded, wiping the last of the blood and dirt from her face and holding the rag awkwardly. Price motioned to the trash on the tray, essentially telling her it was ruined, and she dropped it down in the soup bowl.

He went to continue when suddenly he caught sight of Ghost as he pulled his mask down to rest around his neck. Following his gaze, JJ turned her head and saw them walking in, to which she immediately stood up to take off the jacket.

"Keep it, lass. At least until we can get you a new one," Soap said, holding out his hand for her to stop.

Jamie shedded the jacket anyway and offered it to him. "Sir, all due respect, but your fingertips are blue. I-"

"I'm trained for the cold. Sit down, please," the Scot interrupted, motioning towards the chair once more. She nodded reluctantly, pulling the jacket around her body again as she took her seat. "I see Captain Price took care of ya."

"Yes sir," she agreed, fiddling with the spoon on the tray in front of her. Before, when it was just her and the older captain, she felt comfortable. Price had earned her trust and she knew that he would never hurt her, but her mind was racing with so many new people surrounding her. 

"Back up, back up," Price said when Soap went to sit at the table as well. "She's been through enough, she doesn't need to be traumatized by your smell too, you muppets." She knew the comment would have made her laugh under normal circumstances, but she was too focused on spinning her spoon.

"Aye, sorry," MacTavish replied. She turned to look at them for a second and paused when she saw Ghost's face, studying it curiously. "That's Ghost. He looks funny, that's why he wears the mask."

Ghost shot a glare over at his captain, and JJ felt guilt well up in her. "I'm sorry," she said softly, looking down at her hands. "I kept running-"

"Love, I told you to keep running. I knew Captain Price here would take care of you, and I wasn't wrong, eh?" Ghost said. She nodded. "We even heard you talking over comms."

JJ reached up to take the headset off, having forgotten it was there for a minute. "You could hear?" She asked curiously, handing it back to him.

"Yeah, Jamie. You were tougher than I was. My first mission I got hit in the shoulder and Ghost had to carry me back," Roach grinned, hoping to at least lighten the air a little. JJ cringed and smiled lightly. "But I lived, so that's why they call me Roach."

Ghost glanced at Price before moving over and taking a seat beside the girl. "He called me Mama. It was awkward," he added. Roach rolled his eyes, knowing the last part was made up but not saying anything to keep the good air. "Price tell you what's going to happen?"

JJ nodded. "He said that when I got cleaned up some guys are gonna come ask me about what happened," she said, looking at Price, who nodded in agreement.

“Aye, let’s get started in that process. Come on, lass, I’ll take you to a shower and get you some clothes,” Soap offered.

Immediately, the 14 year old looked to Price, seeing as he was the main person she trusted here. The older captain nodded for her to go, waving as a signal for her to leave her tray. “Okay,” she said softly, standing up off the bench and handing Price back his gloves. After all, she didn’t need them anymore. “Will you still be here when I get back?”

“I will,” Price nodded. Something between them had clicked and now, of course, he was adopting another kid that he really didn’t need. He was a fatherly figure to kind of… everyone. Now they were dealing with a little orphaned girl with enough trauma to spread across three men; it was only natural for him to adopt her as well. “Go get cleaned up, love.”

JJ nodded and looked over to MacTavish, motioning for him to lead the way. He did so, only a couple steps in front of her as he walked towards his room. It was private, and he was sure that the kid didn’t want to be taking a shower in the women’s barracks. “You got any injuries that need looking at?” he asked, since he doubted she had been asked in all the chaos that was going on. After all, it had only been about an hour and a half since they found her in the facility.

“I have a cut on my arm,” she said after a second, pulling up the sleeve of the jacket and her shirt to reveal a makeshift bandage out of cloth. It was filthy and begging for infection. “It didn’t seem like a big deal though.”

Soap raised his eyebrow, leading her into his room and opening the door to the bathroom. “Let me be the judge of that, lass. Sit,” he said, motioning to the toilet. The girl nodded, moving over and sitting down on the lid, shedding the jacket and rolling up the sleeve to her dark shirt. He grabbed the first aid kit before walking over and kneeling down, looking at her for a second before carefully starting to unwrap the bandage. “So, JJ, do you have any family that we should know about?”

The girl fell silent for a couple minutes before shaking her head. “Both my parents were only children and my grandparents are too elderly. It was just us." She glued her eyes to his hands, which paused once the fabric bandage was off to assess the cut. It was deep, but a couple days old. "What's gonna happen to me, Mr. MacTavish?"

Soap sighed softly and didn’t reply for a second. He pretended like he was focused on examining the cut to make sure there was no infection, but they both knew that he was finding a way to formulate his words. Without anyone out there to take her in, JJ was going to just get dumped in the foster system, probably being tossed around until she’s 18 and can legally get out. The captain never wanted that for a kid, especially not one who’s been through as much as JJ. “I don’t know yet, lass,” he said after a couple moments, reaching over and getting an alcohol wipe. “This might sting a little,” he warned, lightly cleaning the skin around the wound and then the wound itself. JJ flinched, biting her lip and clenching the fist of her free hand as she tried not to pull her arm away. She had been through much worse, but there was nothing like the nostalgic sting of alcohol in a cut. After a couple seconds, MacTavish pulled the wipe away. “You can get it wet, just come to me when you’re done with your shower.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, looking down at the cut. It looked strange, since the skin around the cut was so much cleaner than the rest of her arm. Soap kneeled down and got a fresh bar of soap out from under the sink, putting it in the shower.

“I’ll wait outside, then we can walk back to the chow hall after, aye?” he offered. She nodded and he walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Sighing, she stood up and started to get undressed.

A shower would really help calm her nerves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright y'all, I don't do chapter summaries lmao so its a *surprise*. Thanks for all the lovely feedback on the last chapter!


	3. Cognitive Interviews

Half an hour later she walked out of the bathroom. Her original assumption was right, a hot shower calmed her down and gave her some time to collect her thoughts. She had been so scattered when they picked her up, on the verge of tears and collapse, but now, with food in her stomach and not caked in a thick layer of muck, she felt grounded. Her hair wasn’t a rat’s nest on her head anymore, and now fell in ringlets down to her shoulder blades, and she had warmed up considerably. The sweatpants may have been a bit big, and the hoodie smelled off, but she honestly felt better than she had in months. “Uh, thanks for letting me use your shower,” she said softly when she spotted MacTavish on the bed. He was reading something, but put it away when she came out.

“Aye, no need. Are you feeling any better?” he asked, raising his eyebrow at her as he stood up off the bed. She smiled softly and nodded, looking down at the clothes that were given to her. “I know, they’re a little big-”

JJ cut him off. “No! No, they’re perfectly fine,” she promised. “They’re more comfortable than anything I’ve worn in a while,” she added. They didn’t exactly hand out wooly socks in a Russian experiment facility.

The captain sighed softly when he heard this before nodding towards the door. “Come on, Price will have my head if we keep him waiting too long,” he joked, opening it up and walking out of the room. JJ quickly followed, shaking her dark hair out of her face. “You really like Price, aye?”

“Yes, sir. He… reminds me of my dad,” she admitted. It was true, her father was a lot like the older captain: rough on the outside and soft on the inside. Her dad didn’t take any bullshit, especially from his kids, but when it came down to it he was  _ always _ there for them. It hurt to think about how similar they were, because now her father was gone. She wouldn’t ever spend entire days in his busted pick up truck yelling the lyrics to some AC/DC song again, nor would she shoot grins towards him while her mother scolded them for ruining their clothes with grease.

It was going to be hard living off faded memories.

A hand on her shoulder broke her from her thoughts. “I know you miss him, lass,” MacTavish said gently. She nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat, looking up at him after a second. “He would’ve been proud of you for surviving all this.”

JJ bit her lip. “Thank you,” she whispered before pushing open the door to the mess hall. It was completely vacant now other than the few members of Task Force 141, and somehow the quiet only made her nervous. No soldiers to drown out her thoughts, just Price, Ghost, Roach, and some random dude who looked like he could use a hard slap across the face. “Who’s that?”

“General Shepherd,” MacTavish greeted, answering her question at the same time. Shepherd nodded and looked over to JJ.

“Please, Johnson, sit down,” he said. She did so, taking her previous place beside Roach. “Captain Price thought you might feel more comfortable here than in my office, is that correct?”

“Yes, sir,” she nodded, looking over at Price at the mention of him. The Brit just nodded a little encouragement to her, wanting her to know that Shepherd was just there to help.

“What can you tell me about the facility you were in?” the general asked, lacing his fingers together like an evil businessman in a Disney movie.

JJ thought back, turning her attention down to the table. “A lot of it was in Russian. Uh… they said something about a really important laptop or computer or some kind of technology. I don’t know the word. Uh… they kept asking me about military bases in America. I pretended like I knew where they were so that they didn’t kill me. If they needed me, they were just going to beat me. That’s how I survived,” she explained, picking at the skin on her thumb. It was a raw area, somewhere she obviously picked at when she was nervous.

“You know Russian?” Shepherd asked, raising his eyebrow.

“A little bit. One of my close friends in middle school was Russian. He taught me a couple things like the alphabet, some common phrases… enough for me to decipher what they yelled about,” she replied. Price raised his eyebrows as well, honestly surprised as her backstory got more and more interesting. He knew why she didn’t tell them things right off the bat. She had been beaten for information for three months; unless they asked about something, they weren’t gonna get jackshit. 

Price leaned forward, hoping his connection with the girl would help her open up a little. “Oi, JJ,” he said gently. She looked up at him to meet his eyes. “Did they mention any names that seemed important?”

“I dunno, they were all talking really fast,” she admitted, guilt rising in her eyes. Her family was murdered and she couldn’t even come up with anything to put those responsible in jail. What kind of daughter was she? She survived, sure, but what’s the point of her survival if she couldn’t get the justice that she wanted. It was like her family’s death meant nothing. “They mentioned some people but… I can’t…” She shook her head.

Ghost spoke up. “Jamie,” he said, getting her attention after a second. There were tears of frustration glazed in her eyes, threatening to fall. “I got a way to help you remember, but you have to calm down.”

She took a deep breath and nodded, pushing her hair back with a brush of her hands. It was starting to dry, but it was still dark from the shower she had taken. After a second, she nodded to him. “Okay, what is it?” she asked.

“Close your eyes, it will help. Good, good. Now, go back to where you heard one name. You don’t have to know what it is, just go back to where you were. What do you smell?” he asked, looking down at her face.

Price immediately didn’t like this. He knew what Ghost was doing, something the FBI had shown them a couple years ago to help them remember things that had happened if they were tortured. Sometimes their brains locked away memories that were too painful to remember for a good reason. He had seen soldiers, grown men, reduced to tears from what they remembered because of interviews like this, and now Ghost was going to put a little girl through the same thing. He went to protest, but Shepherd held up his hand for him to be quiet, and Price had to wonder how the bastard could sit there and watch.

JJ closed her eyes and took herself back to where she had heard the name. She took a deep breath through her nose. “Sweat… mildew. It smells kind of metallic,” she replied softly, feeling the memory starting to piece itself back together.

“Alright, now, what do you hear?” Ghost asked.

Everything started to rebuild around her closed eyes. She couldn't see, it was like her eyes were closed there too, but the rest of her senses were on high alert. "Chains," she started. "A heater. There's some people talking nearby but I can't hear them." She turned her head away from the noise, putting her ear towards it and straining to hear the other language. "It's in Russian."

Ghost nodded. "Very good, love. Now, what do you feel?"

The girl was blasted with what felt like cold air, and chillbumps rose under her sweatshirt. She could still hear the heater, but it didn't seem to be doing anything to ease the bone-chilling cold that was seeping through her skin. "It's freezing," she said. "I think I'm tied down in a metal chair, and I'm not wearing shoes… Ow… My head hurts. I-I think my fingers are broken. No, no-"

"Jamie, darling, hey. I'm right here, yeah? Deep breaths. Keep your calm," the lieutenant soothed, touching her arm. JJ relaxed a bit, but not much, and Price was almost ready to call off the whole thing. "Alright, now what do you see?"

Silence filled the mess hall for a moment as JJ looked around the room she was locked in. It was the one she was always locked in, small and sad and cold. Unspeakably cold. There were shadows walking in front of the door, blocking out the only light in the room, and what they were talking about suddenly got clearer. She didn't notice that she was shaking until Ghost gently rubbed her arm. "I-It's dark. The room is small, and it's made of concrete. I'm the only thing in it," she said softly. "I can see the shadows of people walking outside. Their words are clear now." She fell silent as she began to translate what they were saying. "Something about weapons, Brazil, and Alejandro Rojas. He's important to some guy named Makarov… I can't understand the rest… They're coming in. No! No, don't touch me!"

Price barked out something the girl didn't understand through her rising panic and Ghost grabbed both her hands. "Johnson! Open your eyes!" He ordered, and her eyes shot open. They were full of tears and somewhere, deep down, the lieutenant felt a pang of guilt. They got the information though, and it wasn't the first time someone had to suffer in order for that to happen. It was just the first time that that someone had been a kid. "You're safe, love. It was just a memory."

Teary emerald eyes turned to look at everyone else. "Did I help?" She whispered shakily.

"Yes, Miss Johnson. You were a great help," Shepherd replied before standing up, grabbing his notebook as well. There was a full page of notes from this session alone. "I'll come back tomorrow to see if you remember anything else. Until then, Captain Price, as you appear to be most comfortable around him for whatever reason, will set you up a bed. Child Protective Services will be around late afternoon tomorrow to talk to you about your future." He said it so matter-of-factly that the girl had no choice but to listen. She knew there would be no repeats of this information. Shepherd didn't care about her trauma. After he got a short nod to show she had understood, he briskly walked out the door, leaving the child on the verge of tears.

Ghost lightly patted her shoulder. "You held up well, love," he praised as she wiped her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered, picking at the skin around her nails as her hands returned to her lap.

"Hey," Roach called, trying to lighten the spirits a little. "I got a card deck nearby, if you want to play. We mostly play Poker, but we can play Bullshit or something if you don't know the rules to Poker.”

The older captain spoke up before JJ got the chance. "No, you need rest. You're waking up at 6:30 with the bloody rest of us, and I doubt you've had a good night's sleep in months," he said, looking directly at the girl. He could see the dark circles under her exhausted eyes. "Come on. I'll find you a cot somewhere."

JJ nodded and rose from the chair she was in, mustering up the voice to tell them goodnight as she moved to walk beside Price, letting him lead her to wherever he thought would be best. She was quiet, not really thinking of anything other than how nice it would be to get a good night’s rest for once. It was a rare occurrence that she even got to sleep for more than 3 or 4 hours at a time back in the facility, between the Russian yelling and the cold and the nightmares. She knew this lifestyle was going to get some taking used to, but she didn’t think she would mind that change too much.

The walk was quiet, the solid thuds of Price’s boots and the soft taps of her socked feet were the only noises in the seemingly abandoned hallway. It was getting later in the day, and soldiers were starting to turn into their rooms for showers and preparing for bed. However, the two weren’t going to the barracks, they were walking past them and towards a side hallway. JJ tried to memorize where she was going, but everything was looking the same, and she worried that if Price didn’t lead her back to the mess hall in the morning that she would never make it back. 

“We don’t have any extra rooms, love, this base isn’t meant to hold as many soldiers as it does. I can give you some options. There’s the women’s barracks down the hall. There’s only 10 or so women in the Special Ops, so you’ll have a cot already made. I can make you up a cot in my quarters, if you’d like-”

“Don’t make me go with people I don’t know, Price, please,” the girl whispered, looking up at the older captain in front of her. She feared if she let him out of her sight, that she would never see him again.

The captain knew there was no saying “no” to a tone like the one she just gave him: so broken and afraid. She had been strong for long enough. “Alright, I’ll fix you up a cot in my room,” he promised. She visibly relaxed and again closed the distance between them, tucking her head into his chest and appearing to try to disappear in the hug. Price locked his arms around her shoulders after a moment. "You're alright, JJ."

The girl nodded in agreement. She was shaken to the core from the interview, but here she was, agreeing that she was alright when so many would have already shattered by now. All she asked for was a bloody hug, and Price was going to give it to her. Hell, he'd give her all the hugs she wanted.

_ Child Protective Services will be around late afternoon tomorrow to talk to you about your future _ .

Price wasn't too sure he was willing to let her go to CPS. He knew there was no therapist, no family that could understand what she went through. Her nightmares and issues were going to be specific and hard to deal with, especially for a family who might not even be allowed to know about her past, considering what she told them. That was government need-to-know information. She would never be able to tell any family she was adopted into about that, and it would destroy her from the inside out.

"Come on. Let's get your cot made up," Price said after a second, patting her back as he pulled away. She nodded and retracted her arms, glancing into his room warily and blinking a couple times. It was like her emotions were too exhausted to present themselves anymore. Once she stepped into the room, the captain followed after and put together an extra cot that wasn’t being used, getting some extra blankets to make it more comfortable along with a pillow for her.

When he glanced back, he saw her eyes wandering around the room. It was bare, considering it was just a little bunker for them to stay in while they were in Russia. The only personalized part of the room was the nightstand, which had a book he was reading sitting on it with some reading glasses folded neatly on top. The bed was made up to almost perfection, and if there were any clothes in the room, they were tucked away in his duffle bag, which was sitting beside the bed. If someone had to describe what the word “military” would look like, this room would be it.

A yawn escaped the girl and Price almost chuckled when her whole body shook from its force. “Here,” he said, motioning to the bed. “It’ll do until we get back to the States.”

“Thank you,” she said, almost on autopilot as she walked over to the cot.

Price nodded and walked over, grabbing his duffle bag. “I’m going to shower. I’ll be back soon. Try to get some rest,” he explained, seeing how she immediately went to stand and follow. The kid was attached to his side, it seemed. She nodded and pushed her hair out of her face before shimmying under the blankets. He clicked off the light and glanced back silently, seeing that she was already completely still, buried under the blankets around her. It wouldn’t surprise him if she had already fallen asleep.

A quiet voice proved him wrong. “G’night, Price.”

He chuckled, a low noise that he doubted she even heard. “Good night, Jamie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, first I'd like to thank all the people who left lovely comments and motivated me to update!!  
> Second, I apologize for the late update! Soccer started and I had four games, not to mention my school workload. Thank you all for being patient!

**Author's Note:**

> Soo, it's definitely a WIP, but I have a few chapters written out already. Comments and kudos are appreciated!


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